1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of health kiosks.
2. Discussion of the Background
Automated self-testing blood pressure and heart rate kiosks have been available for many years in many retail stores and pharmacies. These kiosks have proved to be popular with the public to provide health information. U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,044, the content of which is incorporated herein by this reference, discloses adding a percent body fat measuring system, which uses near-infrared technology, to kiosks that measure blood pressure and heart rate.
The body fat measurement technology disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,044 requires generating multiple wavelengths. This requirement causes the measurement system to be somewhat costly and relatively large, thereby compromising the blood pressure measurement.
Another disadvantage of conventional self-service health kiosks is that they cannot accommodate a large range of arms sizes and/or are mechanically complex and difficult to maintain. Blood pressure measurements in self-service kiosks have been implemented using two different approaches. The first approach uses a fixed diameter circular tube with an internal cuff that is attached to the tube's inside surface. The cuff contains an inflatable bladder. After the arm is inserted into the cuff, the bladder is inflated until the cuff comes in contact with the arm and is then further inflated to a pressure suitable for starting the blood pressure measurement.
This “rigid tube approach” has two distinct disadvantages. First, the maximum diameter arm is limited by the internal diameter of the rigid tube. Second, when a person with a very small diameter arms insert their arm in the tube, the bladder must be “hyper-inflated” (i.e., the bladder must be inflated to such an extent that it is difficult for an accurate measurement to be achieved). This limits the inner diameter of the rigid tube to about 5 inches, thereby not allowing measurement of people with large diameter arms.
The second approach to blood pressure measurements is typified by U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,044. In the second approach, after the arm is inserted an automated mechanism mechanically tightens the cuff around the arm prior to inflation. This is analogous to what a doctor does during normal blood pressure measurement.
These mechanized approaches also suffer from disadvantages. First, they are mechanically complex and difficult to keep in working order in non-attended kiosks. Second, the “wrapping mechanism” approach makes it difficult to remove the arm when the mechanism is in the wrapped position. This raises concerns because, in an emergency situation where power may be interrupted or a fire occurs in the facility and the person panics, the person using the kiosk may not be able to extract him or herself from the wrapping mechanism.
In addition to the above disadvantages of conventional blood pressure measurement kiosks, such kiosks do not provide meaningful measurements of other health related parameters. Another problem with the most conventional blood pressure measurement kiosks is such kiosks are not designed for use by people in wheel chairs.
In some designs, there is wheelchair accessibility, but all such designs have severe limitations. For example, one design uses a bench seat that is built into a rail in the back wall of the kiosk. The bench seat then needs to be moved totally forward to allow a wheelchair to enter. Such an approach has the limitation of being too prone to vandalism from kids putting gum or other debris into the sliding channel.
What is desired is a health kiosk that overcomes these and/or other disadvantages of conventional health kiosks.